What is and what could be….the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner against his Triple-A equivalent. Rich Hill had another rough outing his last start but the defense paved the way in the loss. Hill made improvement from his outing in Colorado but has yet to beat a good team like the one he will face today. Hill could not make it out of the 4th inning the last time he faced the Cards back on July 27th and the Cubs will need a much improved performance today out of the very talented lefty….it will be a tough task with Carpenter on the mound.

Hill has shown he is capable of pitching at the Major League level, in his last 6 games he is 3-2 with a 3.90 ERA in 5 starts. The most noticeable improvement has been his ability to throw strikes; he has struck out 26 while walking just 11 in his last 27 2/3 innings, close to the 3 to 1 ratio that is very critical for success at the Major League level.

Carpenter beat the Cubs and Juan Mateo last Sunday; he gave up just 2 runs on 7 hits in 8 innings of work. Carpenter did not allow a single walk for the 4th straight game and is far and away the best pitcher in the Cardinals rotation. The Cubs can beat Carpenter, they have this season, but Carpenter is pitching his best ball of the year, just when his team needs him the most.

All of Cincinnati is rooting for the Cubs this weekend….and keeping the Cardinals out of the post-season should be more than enough motivation to play as hard as they can for the last 2 games of the series and the season.